Marantz VP-12-S-4 User Manual
Marantz VP-12S4 High-Definition DLP Projector
Reviewed by Brian Kahn, Audio Video Revolution
December 2005
Is the Marantz VP-12S4 the best single-chip DLP projector on
the market? It is a question that has been asked many times
before in many showrooms and many online home theater
forums. The VP-12S4 at $14,499 is the latest and most
expensive in Marantz’s line of VP-12 DLP projectors. The S4
builds upon the proven platform that has utilized the Texas
Instruments HD2+ DLP chipset. The S4 uses the latest
iteration, the DarkChip 3, which increases the fill factor by
reducing the space between pixels. This chipset also features improved contrast and faster operating
speed over the prior chipset (the DC2). Other major changes between the S3 and the S4 include the
addition of a new lens option and a change from Faroudja to Gennum video processing.
The VP-12S4 is a full-featured projector. In addition to the above described features, the S4 has three
Konica-Minolta lens options to fit nearly every possible throw range, vertical lens shift of up to 80 percent
of screen height above the screen, O.R.C.A. (Optically Reproducing Color Accurately) filter, 4500:1
contrast ratio, 700 ANSI lumens, 200-watt SHP lamp, seven-segment color wheel, adjustable iris, sealed
optical path, double-sealed cabinet to prevent light leakage and insure low noise, vertical keystone
correction, auto color temperature calibration system, black level selection and more.
The cabinet is a pearlescent off-white, with a dark gray bezel that surrounds
the large lens assembly which is offset just to the left of center. The overall
design is quite stylish and, for those who do not want an off-white projector,
Marantz now offers black cabinets as an option. The cabinet top features the
lens shift, status lights and other flush-mounted controls and the back panel
has a lit input/output panel that features two HDMI terminals, two multi-scan
component video terminals, two DV trigger outputs, IEC power cord, D-Bus
3.5mm connection, composite video, S-Video, RGB/HD (via D-Sub 15 pin),
and lastly an RS-232C port. The entire cabinet measures approximately 16
inches wide, 18.5 inches deep and just over five inches tall without the
adjustable leveling feet. The S4 weighs in at 28.6 pounds, a lot more than
many other similarly-sized projectors. My guess is most of the additional
weight is due to the high-quality lens system.
The projector’s physical light engine is only half of the package. Without good video processing, even a
topnotch light engine can be rendered nearly unwatchable. The new S4 Marantz comes with the Gennum
GF9350 processor. According to Marantz’s video product guru Dan Miller, this was the only processor
available that would provide both the level of performance and flexibility that Marantz demanded. The
Gennum processor has many features, such as true 10-bit processing, 4:4:4 processing, true motion
adaptive deinterlacing of all non-progressive sources, noise reduction, image enhancement, adaptive
edge correction and more. The Gennum chip also provides flexibility to allow many user adjustments and,
of particular note, user upgrades.
Set-up
I placed the projector on a high stand between my two couches that brought it to the level of the screen
bottom, slightly behind and between the viewing positions. The projector has no noticeable light spill and,
while not the quietest projector on the market, it is pretty close. Even with the projector in the brighter of
the two lamp modes, the noise was not objectionable and, on the dimmer setting, barely noticeable.
The S4 sample that I reviewed featured the new medium throw lens, which meant that in my relatively
small room (approximately 10.5 feet of throw from lens to screen), the largest picture I could obtain was
84 inches; with the short throw lens, I would have been able to obtain a 100-inch image at the same
distance.
1
I continued to use the screen that Stewart Filmscreen was kind enough to lend me. The screen I chose
was their new GreyHawk Reference, which has a gain of .95 (the higher the gain, the brighter the screen,
with 1.0 being neutral). This screen material has a neutral gray material, which helps with reproducing
darker images, a traditional problem area for DLP projectors. As I have mentioned in my other projector
reviews, proper screen selection is critical in obtaining optimal picture quality. Make sure that you pick a
screen that is properly matched to both your projector and room. If you do not, you will never be able to
obtain the best possible picture, no matter how much you time and money you spend on tweaks and
high-resolution sources.
I connected the projector directly to a Marantz DV-9500 and DirecTV highdefinition TiVo unit via HDMI cables and then I connected to my Krell HTS 7.1
via component video cables, which allowed me to compare digital and analog
signals. The VP-12S4 had a wide range of vertical lens shift, which provided a
lot of flexibility in positioning. The focus control is manual, so you either need
two people or you need to go back and forth between the projector and screen
while you get the focus dialed in.
There are 12 picture modes: Theater, Dynamic, Standard and nine user presets. In addition, there are
many fine adjustment menus, including color temperature, aspect ratio, gamma and more. The picture
menus allow numerous adjustments that will keep the video tweaker quite busy. I found that I liked to turn
up the noise reduction a bit on some of the lower-quality sources, which appeared to be turned off on the
standard presets.
Shortly after I received the S4, Marantz announced an upgrade to the video processor. Unlike most other
processors that are hardwired, the Gennum processor is software upgradeable to take advantage of new
developments. I downloaded the software to my computer, which was connected to the projector’s control
port and followed the instructions. The picture was already good, but the upgrade made noticeable
improvements and the open architecture of the Gennum makes more future upgrades possible.
The VP-12 is the only projector that I am aware of that includes its own color calibration system. The
calibration system looks like an oversized lens cap that is attached to the RS-232 port. The whole
process took me just a few minutes and was quite simple.
Viewing the Projector
I started off by watching DirecTV’s high-definition channels. I kept the DirecTV
TiVo unit set to display the native rate of the channel, 1080i for most and 720p for
ESPN-HD. While watching 720p source material, the native resolution of the
projector was able to bypass all video processing. It was quite easy to discern the
varying degrees of quality of the source material. High-quality sources, such as
high-definition NFL games, looked phenomenal on the VP-12S4. Sunday Night
Football on ESPN is consistently the best HDTV broadcast of the week, followed
closely by HD-NET’s NHL hockey programming in HD.
Without scaling and other processing to deal with, I was anxious to see what the limits of the projector’s
capabilities were. One of the first things I noted was that the S4 did a good job with color rendition and
skin tones, and the grass field looked natural. The range of the projector was such that the natural colors
were not at the expense of vibrancy when vibrancy is supposed to be there, as with brightly-colored
jerseys, graphics or signs. As can be expected with a high-quality source, the detail was excellent on the
brightly lit scenes. Some of the shots into the crowd were dimly lit and I found a live, high-definition
broadcast of auto racing under an overcast sky. In both of these scenarios, despite the poor lighting,
there was a great amount of detail and no visible dithering noise. A slight fringe effect was noted,
although it was greatly diminished by the firmware upgrade and less noticeable than in other DarkChip 3based projector systems.
While watching “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” in HD via DirecTV’s 1080i HDMI output, I found that
2
Loading...